


not only in love

by keptein



Series: clarity [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Threesome - M/M/M, relationship - triad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 02:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3340787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keptein/pseuds/keptein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(but best friends too.) Keiji thinks Tetsurou feels left out, but he doesn't immediately see why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	not only in love

**Author's Note:**

> ahh akaashi's pov really isn't my usual. i hope he reads okay. this was prompted by tumblr user [chosekiei](http://chosekiei.tumblr.com), who left me a great message and a really fun prompt for the prompt party i'm having on tumblr. since this ran so long, i'm only posting it on ao3. i hope you like it!

It's Koutarou who notices. It surprises Keiji, because he forgets how perceptive Koutarou is, how easily he reads people. Then again, Koutarou was the one to initiate this relationship, which Keiji doubts either he or Kuroo had properly considered. Neither of them would have the courage to start it, in any case, but Koutarou did it with a wave of his hand and his heart on his sleeve. Sometimes, Keiji is envious.

And so, when they're walking home from Kuroo's, and Koutarou kisses his ear and says, "I think Tetsu feels left out sometimes," Keiji spares only a second to be surprised before he thinks about it.

It's only been three weeks since they first kissed, all three of them. In the meantime, Koutarou and Keiji have been to Kuroo's place at least two or three times a week - they'll sit on the couch, Koutarou and Kuroo on either side of Keiji, and talk about whatever comes to mind. Kuroo often has a hand on Keiji's thigh, and it rests there easily. Maybe that's why he didn't notice before Koutarou pointed it out, but Koutarou and Keiji always sit next to each other. They arrive together and they leave together, and they already know how to behave like a couple.

They’re not a couple anymore, but Keiji isn’t surprised if Kuroo sees the behaviour still lingering.

“What do you want to do about it?” he asks. Koutarou shrugs and looks at the sky, swinging their intertwined hands between them.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I don’t want him to feel like that. What do you think?”

“Maybe we should spend some time together,” Keiji says. “With Kuroo. Separately.”

Koutarou droops. “Without you?” he says pitifully, and Keiji rolls his eyes.

“Yes,” he says firmly. “Without me. And we will, too.”

“Alright,” Koutarou says. “But don’t run away without me, alright?”

Keiji looks at him until Koutarou meets his eyes, but he doesn’t look worried - he’s grinning, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Still, Keiji says, “we wouldn’t.”

“I know,” Koutarou laughs. “I’m way too awesome to leave behind.”

Keiji hums in agreement, and Koutarou’s grin gets brighter.

*

A few days pass until they’re at Kuroo’s again, and when Koutarou goes to the bathroom, Keiji sits back and regards Kuroo. “Do you want to come to mine this weekend,” he asks.

Kuroo raises his eyebrows. “We usually hang out here.”

“Just the two of us,” Keiji says. “Koutarou is busy.”

“I’m what?” Koutarou yells from the other room, and Keiji sighs.

“Busy,” he repeats, raising his voice.

“What, n-- oh, yeah, I am,” Koutarou says loudly, followed by a banging sound and swearing.

“Sure,” Kuroo says. He looks surprised, but pleasantly so. “Just the two of us. It’ll be good.”

Keiji smiles, and Kuroo smiles back.

*

Kuroo comes over on Saturday, and they have a good time. They watch a thriller that has Keiji pressing closer to Kuroo several times, and afterwards Kuroo kisses him for a long while, mutters things into Keiji’s bruised lips that Keiji can’t quite hear - but he doesn’t want to lean back to ask.

They talk, too, about school and university and Kozume, whom Kuroo still sees regularly. Kuroo - “Tetsurou,” he says, when Keiji starts a sentence with his name, “Surely we’re past last names now?” - likes to talk, but without Koutarou present he’s a lot quieter, and Keiji gets to direct the flow of conversation in a way he’s not used to.

It’s good, and it eases Keiji’s worries. He wants Tetsurou to know he’s wanted, and surely an afternoon together like this has to convince him. He still thinks it’s a good idea for Koutarou and Tetsurou to spend some time together too, but they were the first relationship of the three of them - they have to know how much they mean to each other.

*

_“Hey!”_ Koutarou says into his ear, loud on the other end of the line.

“What’s wrong?” Keiji says, rubbing at his eyes, because Koutarou doesn’t usually call him at one in the morning unless he’s worked himself up about something.

_“Nothing,”_ Koutarou says. _“I’m on my way back from Kuroo’s! You’re so invested in this idea of yours, I figure you wanted an update, right?”_

“It’s one in the morning,” Keiji says _._

_“Oh,”_ Koutarou says. He laughs, the sound warm. _“Damn, I must’ve stayed for longer than I thought. Anyway, I’ll be quick, you’re already up now!”_

Keiji sighs and looks out the window, but he doesn’t have class until ten tomorrow, and Koutarou knows that. “Go ahead.”

_“It was just like old times, man! We just talked shit and played video games. Kuroo brought you up a couple of times, but I figured if you wanted it to be our time you wouldn’t want us to just talk about you, so I changed the subject.”_

“Just like old times,” Keiji repeats. Suddenly, he sees what the problem is. “Did you kiss him?”

_“What, no,”_ Koutarou says. _“Should I have? I don’t know, I didn’t think about it. I guess I forget I can do that now.”_

“What’s Tetsurou to you?” Keiji asks.

_“Best friend,”_ Koutarou says immediately. _“Wait, boyfriend. Right? Like you.”_

Keiji pinches the bridge of his nose. “Yes,” he says. “Yes, like me. I need to think. We’re going to meet Tetsurou tomorrow.”

_“Alright,”_ Koutarou says. _“Whatever you say. I’m home now. Sorry for waking you up, love you!”_

“I--” Keiji starts, but Koutarou hangs up before he gets to reply. Keiji looks down at his phone screen and smiles, a tiny, private smile soon whisked away as his room plummets back into darkness.

*

“Make yourself at home,” Tetsurou says when he opens the door and lets them in. “Everything alright? This was pretty sudden.”

“Everything is fine,” Keiji says, heading towards Tetsurou’s room.

“Yeah,” Koutarou says, trailing behind him. “We just wanted to see you!”

“Uh huh,” Tetsurou says suspiciously. Keiji opens the door and goes to sit down on the couch, jabbing Koutarou with his elbow when he tries to sit down beside him. Koutarou gives him an injured look and scoots away, making room for Tetsurou in the middle.

“Come sit down,” Keiji says.

“Something is definitely up,” Tetsurou says, but he sits down.

Keiji looks at Koutarou, sprawled over one end of the couch, and Tetsurou, pressed against Keiji’s side to make room for Koutarou’s legs.

He knows he should say something, but it’s daunting to upset the status quo like this. Koutarou is harmless and predictable, but Tetsurou is still unknown, harder to read than Koutarou ever was. One day Keiji will understand him, and it will be soon, but he doesn’t right now. “You and Koutarou,” he starts, but he doesn’t know how to finish. There’s the disconnect they’re not acknowledging, having moved from a platonic relationship to a romantic one, but Keiji doesn’t know how to make them talk about it.

Koutarou sighs. “It’s about the two of us, bro,” he says. “Something’s off.”

Keiji reminds himself not to be surprised.

“What?” Tetsurou says. “The two of us?”

Koutarou gestures at them. He sits upright, but that only makes the space between them more apparent. “Yeah,” he says. “Because you’re my bro, but we’re boyfriends now. That’s what you mean, isn’t it, Keiji?”

Keiji sighs. Tetsurou still looks confused, eyebrows pulled together as he looks between them uncertainly. “Yes,” Keiji says. “Something like that.” He shifts on the couch, sitting sideways so he can see both of them clearly. “You want to be together too, right? Not just with me?”

“Yes,” Koutarou says immediately, and Tetsurou nods. They’re studiously avoiding each other’s gaze, but Keiji is patient.

“You should do something, then,” Keiji says. He looks at each of them in turn.

Finally, Tetsurou turns to face Koutarou, the wary line still between his brows. He opened his mouth, then shut it again.

“It’s just weird,” Koutarou says finally. “Right? Because I spent so long reminding myself -” he gives Keiji a quick look and then looks back at Tetsurou, cheeks reddening “- that I couldn’t, you know. Do anything about it.”

“Me too,” Tetsurou says. He looks behind him at Keiji, who remains silent.

Koutarou grins. “Well, we can now,” he says, and leans forward, but Tetsurou bursts out laughing.

“You’re _so lame_ , Kou, shit,” he says.

“Hey, come on,” Koutarou says, frowning. Tetsurou shakes his head and puts a hand on his shoulder, stilling him as he leans in.

“Lame,” he says again before he kisses him, Koutarou’s frown lines easing as soon as their lips touch.

Keiji isn’t surprised they exchanged two words before making out. Maybe that’s what he’s not been understanding about Tetsurou - he’s just as easy as Koutarou, just in different ways. He watches them for a while, passively enjoying the sight of Koutarou sucking Tetsurou’s bottom lip into his mouth, Tetsurou stroking Koutarou’s arm. He stands up, but Koutarou’s hand shoots out to grab his wrist and keep him there. Tetsurou separates from Koutarou with a small sigh, then looks up at Keiji.

“Where do you think you’re going,” he says. He’s smiling.

“I figured you’d want to talk more,” Keiji says dryly, and Koutarou laughs, grip loosening around Keiji’s wrist. He doesn’t let go, though, and Keiji looks down at their hands.

“Don’t be silly,” Koutarou says, and tugs at him so Keiji falls against them, sprawled over the couch. He turns so he’s sitting on both of them, his shoulder against Koutarou’s chest.

“You could have just asked,” he points out once he’s comfortable. Tetsurou’s hand presses against his hip, making sure he stays balanced. It’s reminiscent of the first night, except this time the air is clear, and so is Keiji’s head. He prefers this, he thinks.

“Not as fun,” Koutarou replies with a shrug, and then he says, “we can go back to making out now, right? You’re not leaving?”

“I’m not leaving,” Keiji says. Koutarou grins into Tetsurou’s mouth, who gives a short laugh before kissing him back. From this angle, Keiji can see Tetsurou’s eyelashes fanning out over his cheek, and he’s so close he can hear Koutarou’s quiet sigh. He leans back against the armrest, both of them warm against him, and closes his eyes too. The hand on his hip is joined by another, easily but firmly keeping him pressed up against the both of them. Keiji is patient, but that doesn’t matter - this doesn’t feel like waiting.

**Author's Note:**

> come prompt me on tumblr! i'm at [asexualtobio](http://asexualtobio.tumblr.com).


End file.
